World Sheep Dog Trial, Food & Country Festival 15-18th September

The 2011 World Trials are being held at the picturesque Lowther Estates near Penrith in Cumbria starting on Thursday, 15th September till Sunday, 18th September.

Lowther Park is the largest outdoor events venue in the Lake District and in 2009 it played host to the International Sheep Dog Trials. The World Trial will feature 240 dogs and handlers from 23 different countries, including teams from Japan, New Zealand, Brazil, the USA and Canada. There will be 21 dogs from England running, but only five of them are included in the England team, which is made up of the top five from the 2010 English Sheep Dog Trials.

Although the events starts on Thursday, there will be a parade through the streets of Penrith on Wednesday night. Starting at 8am on September 15 will be four days of sheep dog trials featuring the world’s top dogs and their handlers, with the grand final taking place on Sunday, September 18.